News and Notes

A Newsletter for Faculty and Staff of Idaho State University

Play2Train Named Lindon Prize Finalist

Idaho State University's Play2Train Project, hosted within the online world of Second Life, was named one of 10 finalists for Linden Lab's 2010 Linden Prize.

Play2Train was created by Ramesh Ramloll and his colleagues at ISU's Division of Health Sciences' Institute of Rural Health.

This annual award program was launched last year by Linden Lab to recognize a Second Life resident or team with a $10,000 prize for an innovative virtual world project that improves the way people work, learn and communicate in their daily lives outside the virtual world. This year there were more than 130 contest entries.

"Many programs in Second Life have greatly enhanced and changed thousands of lives around the world and we, at Linden Lab, are not only inspired by their accomplishments, but also want to formally recognize the best-of-the-best with a Linden Prize," said Mark Kingdon, CEO of Linden Lab. "There were so many wonderful projects to choose from this year and I want to thank all of the Linden Prize applicants and congratulate the 10 finalists. Regardless of who wins, the world is a better place because of you."

Play2Train, a program originally developed with the support of the Idaho Bioterrorism Awareness and Preparedness program, is a 3-D virtual place where geographically separated learners, subject matter, experts and content builders gather as avatars to create collaboratively immersive learning experiences for the heath care, emergency preparedness and educational services industries.

The Institute of Rural Health has been providing virtual trainings for emergency personnel for the past several years, primarily through the Play2Train platform.

"We are thrilled to find our venture in future education technologies among the Linden Prize finalists that include heavy hitters such as the NASA CoLab and other well known international institutions such as Open University," Ramloll said of the program's recognition.

This year's winner was The Tech Virtual Museum Workshop, a medium where exhibition content is created and tested, and learning centers, museums and cultural institutions around the world can access open source exhibit concepts, designs and educational materials.

For more information about Play2Train, contact Ramesh Ramloll at (208) 282-5333. For more information about Linden Lab, Second Life and the Linden Prize visit www.lindenlab.com.